Discussion: How Do Black People Feel About Gays in Church?

CNN’s Kyra Phillips gave a ringing endorsement to a Christian minister and his heterodox views on homosexuality on Monday’s Newsroom.

Phillips interviewed televangelist Bishop Carlton Pearson, who, in her words, went “out on a limb…[to] say gays are accepted in heaven,” and concluded the segment by stating how she “respect[s] very much” what he preached on the highly-debated moral issue.

The anchor led the 10 am Eastern hour with the allegations against Bishop Eddie Long, who has been sued by four young men so far who accuse him of coercing them into sexual relationships.

Four minutes into the hour, Phillips introduced Pearson as a “pioneering black televangelist and a close friend of Eddie Long’s…[who] lost a lot of his flock when he began preaching that everyone has a place in heaven, including gay people.”

She first asked the bishop, “Why did you go out on a limb and say gays are accepted in heaven, something that the black church disagrees with?”